


Séance

by ReservoirCat



Series: Hannictober Drabbles [1]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: A little gore, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Memory Palace, Sad!Hannibal, sappy!hannibal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 21:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8224994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReservoirCat/pseuds/ReservoirCat
Summary: Hannibal drew a deep breath. "I had wished so badly to talk to my sister once more...," he trailed off.





	

They had developed a habit of snuggling. After dinner and cleaning up the kitchen together they would settle into the living room to talk or read, neither of them especially fond of watching TV. After a while sitting opposite each other, they had silently agreed to share the sofa, glancing sideways at one another as the other spoke, and over days and weeks they had gradually scooted closer until it was normal for Hannibal's head to rest on Will's shoulder, Will’s arm around Hannibal, or Will's head cradled in Hannibal's lap, Hannibal running his fingers through Will's hair.

They found themselves like this one fall evening with Hannibal being exceptionally quiet, staring into the flames of their fireplace, his wine untouched on the side table.

Will waited for him to speak, content to just listen to his soft breathing and the faint and lazy gurgling noises of his stomach next to his ear.

Hannibal drew a deep breath. "I had wished so badly to talk to my sister once more...," he trailed off.

Will covered Hannibal's hand on his chest with his own, grounding him with the steady rhythm of his heart and the warmth that radiated from his skin through the fabric of his shirt. _I'm here. I'm listening._

Hannibal tended to get lost in the corridors of his memory palace when the mood struck. Yet Will could always join him there, even in places that had been closed off for anyone else. Together they opened doors to rooms even Hannibal hadn't dared to set foot in for ages.

"Show me," Will whispered and closed his eyes.

In the golden glow of the Norman Chapel Hannibal hesitated a beat longer than usual before he offered his hand for Will to take. _Follow me._

Will let himself be lead through ever darkening corridors, down winding flights of stairs to a heavy, black, bolted door that Hannibal pushed open after a glance at Will who nodded once. Together they stepped into... An attic.

It was night. There was moonlight coming through the small windows of the sloping ceiling. The room was empty, except for a small figure at the far side, kneeling, it seemed, in front of a flickering candle and something else, Will could only guess. As they tried to approach, the room seemed to stretch and grow darker.

Will took Hannibal's hand again and squeezed gently. _I'm here. It's okay._

As they eventually got closer, Hannibal stopped a few feet away from what appeared to be a boy, a much younger version of himself, silently sobbing.

Will took one step closer and saw in the dim light of the candle that his hands and forearms up to his elbows were covered in blood and he was kneeling over the body of a woman. Her dress was torn, her naked torso ripped open, her rip cage gaping, heart and lungs smashed, blood pooling around her.

"I was foolish," Hannibal whispered behind Will. "And I saw through all of her tricks."

When Will looked up the room around them was no longer empty. Cardboard cut outs, painted white and light green, with anguished faces covered in thin veils, leaned against cupboards. From a half open drawer a radio was crackling. A table was suspended over the floor, hanging from thin threads. Ouija boards were visible next to racks with costumes. A trap door stood open to reveal a hidden chamber, where someone could make sounds or jump up from.

Will looked at the boy again. He was older now.

"I felt like a stupid child," Hannibal admitted quietly.

"Do you regret that you killed her?"

"No," Hannibal said.

"You regret that she made you believe," Will turned to Hannibal, "if only for a second."

Hannibal nodded briefly.

She had seen him hoping for a miracle, longing for something every sane person knew to be impossible. She had seen him weak. And she had been ready to exploit his weakness.

"Unforgivable," Hannibal hissed and suddenly they were in the hall again, the door being slammed shut.

Will opened his eyes and looked up at Hannibal. His eyes were wet with unshed tears.

Hannibal took a moment longer to fully emerge from his memories. When he finally looked down at Will's head in his lap he smiled warmly and laced their fingers together over Will's chest.

"Thank you, Will," he said softly.

"No need to. You loved your sister very much. Still do..."

"Yes. I wish you could have known her." Hannibal sighed.

"Is that why you thought of her today?"

Hannibal nodded, "I would have loved to show her how good life can be, after all..."

His eyes grew distant again, but this time Will stopped him with a hand on his cheek. "What would you tell her, if you had a chance?"

Hannibal made Will sit up to properly face him. "I would tell her about you."

Will's hand found Hannibal's cheek again.

"I would tell her how utterly, unfathomably happy you make me." Hannibal turned his head slightly to place a kiss on Will's open palm. "And I would tell her that I wished her nothing more than to find someone for herself as perfect as you are to me." His gaze upon Will was so soft and open that for the first time in his life Will's heart felt like it was too big for his chest.

He took Hannibal's face in both hands and pulled him in for a kiss.

No more words were needed.


End file.
